Discussion Thread -> "Beans" Throwdown (Entries and Quality ON TOPIC *CLEAN* Discussion Only)

Kathy's Smokin' said:

Spoon shot or not, brother, I'm in love with those falafels. :thumb:

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oifmarine2003 said:

Please add to my Entry. NOT to be used for my entry shot.

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Moose said:

Folks, there's nothing to worry or be concerned about here at all, so everyone please calm down.

We've got an emergency shipment of Dilly Bars being airlifted that should arrive early tomorrow am that will take care of the situation, so we'll be good to go no matter what happens.

:heh:

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Kathy's Smokin' said:

This is my official entry titled, "Too long baked navy beans".

It started innocently enough. I wanted to make a fabulous 'from scratch' bean entry, something tasty and healthy, that would propel myself onto the next level of bean eating. I got propelled alright, just not the way I expected.

Two pounds of dried navy beans soaked in cold water about 18 hours. Rinsed and turned out into a roasting pan.



A medium onion and ¾ of a large green pepper chopped smallish, sauteed in grapeseed oil and tossed on the beans. Originally I had planned to fry this in my homemade bacon, but after careful consideration, I thought if it turned out it would be great to share with my spiritual discussion group, but most of them are vegetarians…… so grapeseed oil. :hand:



Three very ripe field tomatoes whizzed around and added.



Spices were fresh ground corriander, cumin and black pepper, ⅛ tsp smoked hot paprika, granulated garlic and onion, smidgeon of celery seed, molasses, mustard powder. I didn't have any cartons of vegetable stock left so I used apple juice for simmering. When the 2 litre/quart bottle was finished I used water to about another 2 litres. They cooked a very long time and went through a lot of liquid topping up.







Hey, wait….. what's that poking out from the edge of the roasting pan of vegetarian beans?

Brisket point!! :whoo:



Finished bowl of beans.



Spoon shot and voting photo below.



Now comes the part where I ask my brethren and sistren to help me trouble-shoot the 'al dente' texture of these beans. Is it me, am I unreasonably expecting the texture to be like canned beans? I tried cooking beans once from scratch many, many years ago, I remember they soaked overnight and almost overflowed the pot, but other than that, I don't remember what I made or how they turned out. I do remember reading that salt added to some kinds of beans before they are tender will prevent them from reaching tenderness. Works for me, I cook without salt for my spouse and add salt to my own plate. I smoked them outside from about 3:30 pm at 250°F until the fire died down after midnight. Still hard. Put them in the oven overnight at 225°F. Woke up in the morning, still hard. Continued to add liquid, continued to cook, continued to be hard. Continued to bake them in the oven to the second morning. Still hard. Pretty much cooked them a day and a half and added about a gallon of liquid altogether.

I've read that if dry beans are old you can't cook them long enough to get them tender. Is this what my problem is? I don't like it if that is. I think of dry beans as an emergency staple, and being dry, I expect them to be able to store for a few years or at least 3. I didn't record the date of purchase and I really don't know how old they are. Is there a way to bring back too old dry beans? Soak them for 3 days before cooking? Use a pressure cooker? Boil them on the stove in water 6 hours before baking with seasoning and vegetables? I'm going to try this again but maybe with half a pound next time.

Thank you to anyone that is able to help me figure this out.

And thanks for looking!

:becky:

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SmokinAussie said:

Just a little olive oil, salt and pepper!

Nothing more!

Cheerss!

Bill

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dadsr4 said:

Homemade baked beans have been a staple of my life for over 60 years, and they always have a "texture" to them. The skin of the bean is always present in homemade baked beans. The mushiness of canned beans is a dead give away to me.

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Kathy's Smokin' said:

Oh. Thank you, I think I may have overcooked them then. I know what you call the mushy canned ones best. At about 22 hours cooking they were substantially more tender in comparison with how they were before that, and the flavour was significantly different at that point, like it was mellow or mature. I tasted the beans a dozen times at least through the cook so I can recall the appearance and taste of each stage of cooking. Are canned beans the way they are because the skin is gone? When do you add salt? I have a lot to learn about cooking dry beans, if you have anything else to teach me, I'm grateful to receive it, brother.

Can you tell me what you consider best storage times for dry beans and if and how you cook ones that have been around longer than that?

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Kathy's Smokin' said:

This is my official entry titled, "Too long baked navy beans".

It started innocently enough. I wanted to make a fabulous 'from scratch' bean entry, something tasty and healthy, that would propel myself onto the next level of bean eating. I got propelled alright, just not the way I expected.

Two pounds of dried navy beans soaked in cold water about 18 hours. Rinsed and turned out into a roasting pan.



A medium onion and ¾ of a large green pepper chopped smallish, sauteed in grapeseed oil and tossed on the beans. Originally I had planned to fry this in my homemade bacon, but after careful consideration, I thought if it turned out it would be great to share with my spiritual discussion group, but most of them are vegetarians…… so grapeseed oil. :hand:



Three very ripe field tomatoes whizzed around and added.



Spices were fresh ground corriander, cumin and black pepper, ⅛ tsp smoked hot paprika, granulated garlic and onion, smidgeon of celery seed, molasses, mustard powder. I didn't have any cartons of vegetable stock left so I used apple juice for simmering. When the 2 litre/quart bottle was finished I used water to about another 2 litres. They cooked a very long time and went through a lot of liquid topping up.







Hey, wait….. what's that poking out from the edge of the roasting pan of vegetarian beans?

Brisket point!! :whoo:



Finished bowl of beans.



Spoon shot and voting photo below.



Now comes the part where I ask my brethren and sistren to help me trouble-shoot the 'al dente' texture of these beans. Is it me, am I unreasonably expecting the texture to be like canned beans? I tried cooking beans once from scratch many, many years ago, I remember they soaked overnight and almost overflowed the pot, but other than that, I don't remember what I made or how they turned out. I do remember reading that salt added to some kinds of beans before they are tender will prevent them from reaching tenderness. Works for me, I cook without salt for my spouse and add salt to my own plate. I smoked them outside from about 3:30 pm at 250°F until the fire died down after midnight. Still hard. Put them in the oven overnight at 225°F. Woke up in the morning, still hard. Continued to add liquid, continued to cook, continued to be hard. Continued to bake them in the oven to the second morning. Still hard. Pretty much cooked them a day and a half and added about a gallon of liquid altogether.

I've read that if dry beans are old you can't cook them long enough to get them tender. Is this what my problem is? I don't like it if that is. I think of dry beans as an emergency staple, and being dry, I expect them to be able to store for a few years or at least 3. I didn't record the date of purchase and I really don't know how old they are. Is there a way to bring back too old dry beans? Soak them for 3 days before cooking? Use a pressure cooker? Boil them on the stove in water 6 hours before baking with seasoning and vegetables? I'm going to try this again but maybe with half a pound next time.

Thank you to anyone that is able to help me figure this out.

And thanks for looking!

:becky:

Click to expand...